The Rebels challenged Little Rock for a midweek match at Swayze Field and also hosted their annual Kids’ Day game.
Ole Miss starter Cade Townsend opened the game clean by tossing two strikeouts and a routine play made by shortstop Luke Cheng.
The Rebels started strong with back-to-back singles by Mitchell Sanford and Luke Hill. Ole Miss quickly followed this up with RBI fielder’s choice from Will Furniss to end the first inning 1-0.
Ole Miss struggled defensively in the third. They allowed three runs to score, giving the Trojans a 3-1 lead. The Rebel offense generated momentum with two early singles but to no avail.
In the bottom of the fourth they showed some life after two walks led to a run scored. Following Cheng’s walk, Hayden Federico advanced to third but managed to take home after a wild throw to make the score 3-2 Trojans.
Pitcher Landon Waters came into the fifth to replace Townsend and slow the Trojan momentum.
The Trojan defense seemed to hold strong in the sixth, grabbing two quick outs before loading the bases for Ole Miss cleanup hitter Ryan Moerman. Little Rock brought in relief pitcher Blake Van Cleve to strike out Moerman on three pitches, ending the Rebel scoring chance.
Waters threw two shutout innings and posted three strikeouts before being replaced by Brayden Jones to start the seventh. After Jones struck out the side to begin his day the Rebels hoped that this was the momentum change they needed.
The Ole Miss Rebels hoped for a sign of life at the plate to take the late lead and save themselves from an unlikely upset. Tensions were high as the Little Rock Trojans hoped to hold strong and head home with a major win for their team.
Judd Utermark began the bottom of the seventh with a walk and was quickly followed by an RBI triple from Issac Humphrey. The Rebels ended the seventh tied 3-3.
Ole Miss brought in Alex Canney to pitch in the eighth, and he showed early signs of struggle. Canney gave up a free base by hitting the Trojan leadoff man and gave up three hits and two runs before getting out of the inning.
Little Rock led 5-3 going into the bottom half of the eighth, where the Rebels were unable to scratch across any runs.
Hudson Calhoun started on the mound for the Rebels but was quickly replaced by Taylor Rabe after giving up two free bases. Ole Miss head coach Mike Bianco took a risk and walked the bases loaded in hopes of getting the double play to end the inning. The decision came back to bite him as Little Rock increased the lead to 7-3 going into the bottom of the ninth.
Ole Miss was looking for a last minute miracle, but was not able to find one, as their only baserunner of the inning was caught stealing to end the game.
The Little Rock Trojans will go home after an upset victory against the Ole Miss Rebels with a final score of 7-3.
Who’s next?
The Ole Miss Rebels will visit the South Carolina Gamecocks for a three-game series starting at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, April 17. SEC Network+ will broadcast the series.
